Donald Trump has got his sights set on the Smithsonian. According to him the institution is “woke” and he claims that it has put too much focus on “how bad slavery was” when it should be focused on what makes America great.
Taking to Truth Social, the president voiced his grievances with the Smithsonian, claiming that its museums always paint the U.S. in a negative light.
“The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”
In reality, this is just a part of American history, you can’t just prevent people from discussing it because it’s a particular point of shame for the country. The reason such events are still discussed to this day is so that current and future generations may learn from the past and not repeat the same mistakes.
Donald Trump refuses to learn
Of course, Trump simply sees this as an attack on America which he calls “the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World.” He warns that the U.S. “cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE.” His rant just perfectly demonstrates how little Trump really understands about his country’s own history.
Imagine being so fragile that teaching slavery makes you feel attacked. The country isn’t bad because museums teach slavery. It’s bad because people like Trump refuse to learn from it. pic.twitter.com/dY54UnGKyP
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) August 19, 2025
Unfortunately this is just the latest example of presidential policies that unfairly target minority groups, erasing their stories and struggles from the country’s history. Recently his administration ordered a review of African American exhibits in American museums demanding the removal of “divisive” facts that don’t align with Trump’s “interpretation of American history.”
His attack on DEI policies has also greatly affected many American citizens and Trump has even bullied numerous institutes and companies into submitting to his policies by threatening to withhold funding. Earlier this year he even tried to get the museum director, Kim Sajet, fired for “highly partisan” behavior.
The president has vowed to send his attorneys to go through museums and “start the exact same process that has been done with colleges and universities.”
This is American history
Whether Trump likes it or not, slavery and the stories of African American people are a part of the country’s past and what he’s doing amounts to an attempt to re-write history. On X people shared their concerns over what Trump is doing. One person wrote, “This isn’t fragility; it’s a calculated demolition.” Another added, “He’s obviously never set foot in the Smithsonian if that’s what he thinks is in there.”
While he may try to paint it as an attempt to present the U.S. and its history in a more positive light this doesn’t change the fact that he’ll be burying a part of the country’s history in order to push a very pro-America narrative. We’re veering dangerously close to a dystopian version of the U.S. if we aren’t there already and changing history is just another step down that path.
